


An Octopus by Any Other Name

by SingSwan_SpringSwan



Category: Now You See Me (Movies)
Genre: Couch Cuddles, Danny is a simp for henley, F/M, Fluff, Four Horsemen, Multi, Papa Dylan, Slow Burn, dysfunctional magician family, family movie night, henley/daniel, jack is a kleptomaniac, sleight
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-16
Updated: 2020-12-16
Packaged: 2021-03-10 23:27:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,821
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28115409
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SingSwan_SpringSwan/pseuds/SingSwan_SpringSwan
Summary: Lula is excited to have a family movie night. And also possibly cuddle with her crush. All slashes are implied because I’m a fan of slow burn. Let’s all pretend that the kiss didn’t happen at the end of the second movie and our darling idiots are just flat out pining idiots.
Relationships: Lula May & Jack Wilder, Lula May/Jack Wilder, Merritt mckinney/alcohol, dylan rhodes & Henley reeves & merritt mckinney & jack wilder & lula may & J daniel atlas
Kudos: 27





	An Octopus by Any Other Name

“MOVIE NIGHT!” Lula vaulted over the back of the couch and plopped down hard beside Jack, startling the phone out of his hands.

Daniel let out an abrupt yelp of surprise. “Um, wh-what are you—”

“Henley! Get over here! We wanna watch a movie!”

“We do?” Merritt drawled from the floor. He swirled his glass and squinted up at the TV, which had been playing the last football match for everyone to ignore.

“Yes!” Lula insisted. “Come on, it’s Friday night. We’re all here anyway. Dylan? Back me up?”

Dylan shrugged distractedly. He hadn’t really been paying attention. All his focus was set on the tiny puzzle in his hands, which he stared at intently through a pair of readers. “I guess. No one’s watching the game, right?”

“Nope!” Lula dove for the remote. She flashed Jack a blinding grin.

Geez, how did anyone smile like that? All he could do for the moment was stare. What a really captivating smile. It brought out the cute quirk in her lips, and made her eyes shine. Magic. Nah, not at all.

“What’s going on?” Henley nursed a steaming cup of something as she padded in from the kitchen. Her loose hair was damp, and her pajama pants were one size too big. She looked so casual and domestic, without all her stage makeup and skin-tight costumes—though Jack knew that the baggy pants were serving to disguise her fading limp.

“Have a seat, Sister.” Lula ordered. “We’re watching a movie.”

Henley observed the brunette flick through channels as she lowered herself onto the couch next to Daniel.

“I-I don’t really want to watch a movie.” Daniel muttered quietly.

“Well you can leave—” Merritt suggested, at the same time Henley asked, “What do you wanna see instead?”

“Find a show.” Jack piped up. His phone had fallen in between the couch cushions, and he squeezed past Lula to fish it out. “The episodes are shorter.” Where…

“Genius,” Lula agreed, then nudged him and handed over the object of interest. Kleptomaniac. He made a face at her playfully.

She sneered back. 

Woah, hang on, that was really adorable. Her nose scrunched up in the corner, and her cute tongue stuck out just past her lips. The action caught Jack off guard, though he wasn’t sure why. Couldn’t he get used to her by now? She was blunt, and direct, and kind of pushy, but in the most refreshing way. Why should he be surprised?

She just had a way of… disarming him.

“Show it is, then. Any suggestions?”

Jack tucked his phone away as the rest of the group tossed up a few names. 

“Forget it, Henley, I’m not watching that Supernatural bullcrap!” Merritt was very adamant about this, though he managed to shout it in tandem with Daniel’s “We could do that, if it’s really what you want.”

“Oh no wait, Merritt doesn’t want to watch  _ that bullcrap _ .”

“I won’t! And you can’t make me!”

“Well hold on now, there’s no need to shout—”

“Shut up, Atlas, no one asked you!”

“You know what, Merritt, since you’re such a critic, is any show good enough?”

“As a matter of fact, yes! It’s called Star Trek, and it’s a masterpiece, thank you.”

“That? Are you kidding me?”

“You need to be cultured, you uncultured swine!”

“Hey!”

Lula leaned against Jack and cooed. “Aren’t they so cute?” She chuckled, and the sound sent bubbles racing up his chest.

“Yeah, adorable.”

“You’re cute too, don’t worry.”

“I—wasn’t worried…” Though the question  _ had _ crossed his mind a few times in the past. Dang it.

The couches were really squishy. The longer you sat, the further you sank, and the more it felt like sitting on a giant hug. Great for taking naps. Also great for making two occupants lean unintentionally-close together. Like Jack and Lula’s shoulders, which were smushed against one another. 

Jack tried to readjust his position by throwing an arm behind the couch.

“Jack! We need a tie breaker!” 

Apparently tired of the back-and-forth, Henley whipped around suddenly, eyes aflame, nostrils flared. Merritt laid back on the floor and threw his hands up lazily.

“What?”

“Supernatural or Star Trek?”

“Uh…”

“Come on, don’t put this on him,” Daniel protested. “He’s probably never seen either.”

True, Jack wasn’t big on TV shows.

Lula raised her hand. “Uh, I haven’t seen either either.”

Henley’s fiery gaze snapped to her. “Sacrilege!”

“Woah, okay enough, can we please stop shouting?” Dylan groaned tiredly. He rubbed his eyes.

“Merritt started it!”

“I don’t care who started it, just pick something.”

Everyone turned to Jack expectantly. Uhhh. He didn’t know what the shows were about, but if he had to pick the safest option, he should probably go with Henley’s, right? If he didn’t want to die young?

“I… I dunno. Lula, what do you wanna watch?”

The blinding beam of her smile was so startling, Jack had to blink a few times to regain his vision.

“You know Jack, I’m  _ so _ glad you asked.”

Oh, really? Okay well then, good move. Even if Henley looked indignant. That was okay. Lula was happy.

“Ahem,” She held the remote up to her lips. “Avatar: The Last Airbender.”

There was a pregnant pause while the TV loaded.

Merritt was the first to curse.

“What the hecc? What the  _ hecc _ is this?”

He even sat up.

“Is that… anime?” Daniel asked hesitantly.

“You betcha.” Lula looked so happy with herself.

“Ah geez,”

Henley gaped. 

They were too startled to protest, it seemed. Jack really had to hand it to her. Nice choice.

“Please tell me you guys have at least heard of this.”

“No can do, sweet thing. And I ain’t stayin’ up to watch it. Goodnight everyone.”

Henley jumped on it a little too quickly. “Goodnight Merritt!” She chirped.

But Lula wasn’t finished. “Oh, no you don’t!” She reached over with her foot and pushed him back down. “You’re staying right there, Mister! It’s family bonding! Watch at least one episode with us.”

“What kind of family is this?” Merritt shouted. The push from Lula’s foot jostled the alcohol in his cup. “WOAH! I’m being held against my will!”

Jack was not laughing. He was not. And he definitely didn’t find Lula’s efforts endearing. At all.

“Calm down, Merritt,” Dylan muttered. He looked out over his readers at the cartoon on the TV. “You know what? This looks interesting. I wanna see an episode.”

“Fine! Just the first episode!”

Daniel’s eyes narrowed, and he slouched just a tiny bit. “That makes one of us.”

“Two of us!” Lula flashed him a backwards peace sign which would have been considered rude in England.

“As long as it’s not Star Trek.” Henley agreed.

“Hey!”

Daniel was quick to agree that Star Trek had lost the night, though Jack was pretty sure he only showed support because a certain ginger was on board.

“Jack?”

Lula turned to him last, dark eyes wide and expectant. A tiny quirk pulled her tight lips up, like she could burst into a smile at any moment. That was not a tease. At all. Jack did not feel in any way taunted by that tiny quirk.

“Huh?”

“What’s it gonna be? Avatar?”

“Oh. Yeah. I thought it was obvious, I already gave my support. I mean—whatever you pick is fine.”

Her lips turned down in an approving smirk. She nodded slowly.

“Excellent.”

That was not a tease. It wasn’t.

And yet, Jack couldn’t help but be hyper-aware as Lula tucked her feet up and wriggled back against his conveniently-placed arm. She folded herself into her shawl.

“Toss me a blanket, would you, sweetie?”

The stack of throw blankets was between Jack and the arm of the couch. They acted as a pretty good pillow at times, and they may or may not have been the sole reason that this was Jack’s favorite spot in the living room. He passed one over.

“Thanks.”

Lula shook it out and spread it over their legs.

Jack’s side was definitely not on fire.

As it turned out, the show that Lula had chosen was pretty interesting, all things considered. The concept wasn’t bad, the characters were pretty fun. And Jack—was honest-to-god trying to enjoy himself. Even Merritt seemed to be doing that, though most likely his glass was to thank.

It wasn’t that Jack disliked the show. He was just a little distracted. Okay? Not entirely his fault. It wasn’t his fault that Lula was  _ this close _ , that her sweet smell teased his nose, that her incredibly soft hair was brushing against his arm in the most  _ maddening _ way. Not his fault.

In fact, her hair clip was also quite the eye-catcher. It was shiny, and pretty, and it looked too fancy to wear with pajamas. Lula had used it to twist her dark locks up tight. Maybe she didn’t even know it was there. Before Jack was even aware of himself, he had made it his personal mission to steal the hair clip.

This was his specialty, right? Slipping stuff and being sneaky? And anyway, he needed to neutralize the distractions, because he was fairly sure Lula would appreciate it more if he was paying attention to the show than staring at her like a creep.

So Jack set to work.

Because the do was so tight, there was no way for Jack to just—snatch it without her feeling. He had to desensualize her first. Shouldn’t be a problem. Also, not entirely an unenjoyable step of the process, because it involved Jack playing with her hair, and that was fun.

Lula had really nice hair. It wasn’t the silkiest thing in the world, but it was soft, and it bounced everywhere. Jack let his fingers chase the wavy strands all over the back of the couch, while keeping his gaze dutifully fixed on the TV screen.

(If he had seen Lula’s face, he would have noticed the teeny tiny smile on her lips).

Part of Jack didn’t want to stop touching her hair. She was obviously letting him, after all, and the action was surprisingly relaxing. He didn’t really want to move on to the next step.

Hold up.

Wait, nonono. He was not fawning over Lula—Lula’s hair. He was not. He was just grooming her (crap), setting her up for a heist. That was all. Nothing more.

And he was not enjoying it.

When Jack thought enough time had passed, he let his fingers skate up her head to reach the object of offense. It didn’t seem too complicated, just a straightforward hinge. Shouldn’t be too hard to ease off.

Unfortunately, Jack forgot to acknowledge a key factor. Her hair was secured so tightly, that taking the clip away suddenly caused it to bounce out and tumble down into her face, like an avalanche of dark chocolate shavings.

Jack froze, clip in hand, as Lula sat up and gasped.

“Oh my gosh!” She cried. Her hands flew to her head. She twisted around wildly, trying to find the accessory in Jack’s hand.

Of course she did, (Jack was too petrified to cover up his tracks), but she actually didn’t look mad. She looked… pleasantly surprised.

“I’ve had this pounding headache all day; I should have known that little beast was the problem—thank you!”

Jack blinked. “Wh—I—what?”

The others were throwing them glances now. Dylan looked like he was trying not to smile.

Reaching up, Lula snatched the clip from Jack’s hand and hurled it across the room. It struck the wall, and clattered to the ground. 

“Thank you.” She repeated.

Okay.

She grabbed his hand and planted a kiss on his palm.

Woah woah, hang on—

“Thank you!”

Then, because she was a bundle of audacity, she scooted closer and smooched his cheek, smiling, like it was the most casual thing in the world. Was that how normal people expressed their gratitude?

Merritt cleared his throat, eyebrows raised.

Or was Lula just a flirt?

Probably just Lula.

“Ugh, I didn’t realize how sore that would make my scalp. Here,” Still in possession of his hand, she swung his arm back over the couch and positioned his fingers at the back of her neck. “Mind helping me out?”

Jack’s mouth was definitely  _ not _ going dry. His heart was definitely  _ not _ pounding in his throat.

It was just hair. It was just Lula’s beautiful, wild, soft, sultry hair. Hair he’d been messing with just a few moments ago. No big deal. Except… it kind of was a big deal, because now she was deliberately asking him to do it—to actually massage her scalp—and it wasn’t like that made him super nervous or anything. Nah.

Then again, it also wasn’t like he could refuse, with her expecting him to comply, and everyone else kind of half watching them, so…

Gently, he began working his fingers up along her head, careful to hold steady in spite of how badly his hands wanted to shake.

His plan had backfired. His plan had horribly, and completely backfired. He was supposed to be free to watch the show now, but instead, his entire focus was centered on the very object he had attempted to divert his attention from. Darn. Shoot. Crap. At least her offer could be his excuse. Because  _ she _ was the one who had asked. So it wasn’t like Jack could have said no.

He pretended not to notice how she… melted under the touch. Or how she closed her eyes a second longer than a blink, and let out a quiet, contented sigh.

Her hum vibrated up through his arm.

“Gee, Wilder.”

Yes?

“You sure are good with your fingers.” She grinned and gave him an exaggerated wink.

He was not blushing.

He was  _ not _ .

Merritt muttered a few expletives.

“Uh—wh-I’m not—that’s—”

“Relax, I was just kidding.” She elbowed his side.

“Kidding.”

Henley sipped her mug inconspicuously. Dylan brought his hand to his mouth. It was a tick of his, but Jack was pretty sure he’d done it deliberately this time. Like he was hiding a grin or something.

Jerkface.

At the end of the first episode, Merritt got up from the floor and made a break for his room. Lula sighed in obvious disappointment. She didn’t try to stop him, though. He’d probably come back around the next night.

Another few episodes went by, and Jack could feel Lula melting just the slightest bit. She continued to sink farther and farther into the couch, and Jack was pretty sure he ended up supporting the full weight of her head in his hand. Was she doing this on purpose?

It wasn’t until she let out a snuffly snore that he realized what was happening. Lula had gone completely limp, slouching sideways against Jack’s chest, sprawled all over him like a freaking octopus. It was all he could do to hold her with his arm, and tilt her head so she didn’t swallow her tongue. She’d fallen asleep. She’d fallen asleep right on top of him.

Daniel had since gone to bed, and Dylan had too, after himself nodding off in the armchair to be subsequently awoken by a loud crash in the audio (which Lula had entirely elected to ignore).

Henley was the only other person left. Jack would have gone, after the last episode, but he was trapped against the couch, and he couldn’t move—not without waking Lula up.

“Are you done watching?” Henley whispered, as episode something-or-other drew to a close.

Jack craned his neck to see over Lula’s hair. “Yes,” He answered in a strained voice. It might have been his poor vantage point, but it looked like Henley was smirking. She wouldn’t betray him like that, would she?

“I’m going to bed.” The ginger stated, placing her empty mug on the coffee table. She snatched up the remote in its place, and switched the TV off. “Sweet dreams.”

Jack definitely didn’t panic.

“Wait, Henley!” He hissed.

She paused.

“I can’t move! Can you help me out?”

She took in their tangled mess of limbs and chuckled. Wait. Nonono, she couldn’t betray him—he needed to get up!

“Why Jack,” A teasing lilt manifested in her voice. 

Oh no, not good.

“Jack of all trades, haven’t you mastered escapism by now?”

Oh no! She really was leaving him!

“I’m open to some tips!” He managed with a shaky voice.

But Henley was unmoved. She merely smiled, before turning away and waltzing for her room. “Sweet dreams, Jack.”

“Henley!” He cried in desperation. “Henley please!  _ Henley _ !”

He was trapped. There was no way to move without waking Lula, and she looked so comfortable, so peaceful, so at  _ ease _ , darnit, interfering was entirely out of the question. Jack’s plan had failed. And he was  _ not _ happy about it. He wasn’t.

When Lula woke up the next morning, she was—once again—pleasantly surprised


End file.
